The time will come, as all times must, when the world will shake, and fall to dust...
1237 BC: It is an age of panic. The great empires are in disarray - ravaged by endless drought, shaken by ferocious earthquakes and starved of precious tin. Some say the Gods have abandoned mankind.
When Tudha ascends the Hittite throne, the burden of stabilising the realm falls upon his shoulders. Despite his valiant endeavours, things continue to disintegrate; allies become foes, lethal plots arise, and enemy battle horns echo across Hittite lands.
Yet this is nothing compared to the colossal, insidious shadow emerging from the west. Crawling unseen towards Tudha's collapsing Hittite world comes a force unlike any ever witnessed; an immeasurable swarm of outlanders, driven by the cruel whip of nature, spreading fire and destruction: the Sea Peoples.
Every age must end. The measure of a man is how he chooses to face it.
★★★★★ Praise for the Empires of Bronze series:
"Doherty truly brings the Hittite Empire to life" - World History Magazine
"An action-packed epic" - Matthew Harffy, author of the acclaimed Bernicia Chronicles
"Vivid, Immersive... wondrous!" - SJA Turney, author of the celebrated Marius' Mules series
"Meticulously researched" - Douglas Jackson, author of the esteemed Gaius Valerius Verrens series
"Sometimes people tell me it'd be great to read fiction about the Late Bronze Age Collapse... and I always send them to this series by Gordon Doherty." - Dan Davis, author of the brilliant 'Gods of Bronze' saga
Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong?
***
It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed.
Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out?
Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her?
Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires.
*This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.